Tortured Woman Rescued From Poinciana House

June 25, 2004|By Christopher Sherman, Sentinel Staff Writer

A Broward County man has been charged in the abduction, assault and torture of an 18-year-old woman who was rescued from a Polk County home after her bizarre weeklong captivity, authorities said Thursday.

Marvin Buckley, 30, faces a life sentence on charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery, sexual battery, armed kidnapping and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.

"She was beaten, gagged, bound with tape and terrorized," said Dominick Pape, deputy director of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in South Florida.

The woman told investigators she was held captive for more than a week in a South Florida home after meeting Buckley on a telephone chat line.

The victim, who is not being identified because of the nature of the allegations, was taken to Poinciana on June 11 and left in the care of another woman, police said. She was able to get free that day and dial 911 when the woman left the home.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office arrived and took the woman to Osceola Regional Medical Center, said Carrie Rodgers, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

The victim's ordeal began when she met the man she knew as "Mike" at a Homestead job center, authorities said. They met again June 4 and he drove her to a home in Weston in Broward County.

Authorities said Buckley urged her to dance and remove her clothing but he became enraged when she resisted. He tied her to a weight bench in an upstairs bedroom and whipped her back, shoulders, arms and legs, they said.

As the days went on, she was beaten, hogtied, sexually assaulted and threatened with an automatic weapon, she told police. A rag was stuffed into her mouth to muffle her screams.

When she told the suspect that she had told someone else the home's address, he wrapped her in sheet, dragged her down a flight of stairs and into the garage, she reported.

The next day he cut the tape from her with a razor blade and forced her to take pain medication and sleeping pills.

On June 11, she was blindfolded and driven to what turned out to be the home in Poinciana where she was found, police said.

Pape said Buckley did not own the Weston home.

Authorities, who arrested Buckley on Wednesday night, would not reveal what evidence they had tying him to the crime. They also would not offer additional details.

The home in Poinciana was dark late Thursday with curtains drawn, and no one answered the door. Neighbors who asked not to be identified said a woman lived there with her daughter, whom they estimated to be about 10 years old. One neighbor said he usually saw the woman or her father, who also lived in the area, daily at the home but had not seen anyone since June 12.

Polk County sheriff's Maj. Sammy Taylor said investigators have not established any connection between the owner of the home, whom he could not identify, and the incident except that the victim ended up there. As of Thursday night, no other arrests had been made in the case.

Taylor said the FDLE was motivated to release some information Thursday because officials think there could be other victims who have not come forward.